'Very intelligent': Former royal butler Grant Harrold reveals the most intelligent royals... and where he thinks King Charles III ranks in the family

Sky News AU

6 days ago

Former palace aide Grant Harrold has weighed in on who he believes are the Royal Family's brightest minds - and King Charles III has made the cut.
Harrold, 47, who served in the Royal Household between 2004 and 2011, has named the three royals he considers to be the most intelligent, based on his years of experience working at Highgrove House.
Harrold was a trusted member of staff for King Charles III and Queen Camilla and also regularly assisted the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.
On occasion, he even had the honour of serving the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip.
In a recent interview with online learning platform Study Platform, Harrold revealed: "The smartest in my mind would have been Queen Elizabeth II."
"The reason I say that is not just intelligence; she was witty, ruled a country for over 70 years, and knew about sports," he told the outlet, per Express UK.
Coming in just behind the late monarch, Harrold placed the Queen's eldest son, King Charles III.
"Right behind her, I would say the King because he speaks several languages, but he is also very intelligent with numbers, and his command of the English language is extraordinary," Harrold explained.
"He's super intelligent, so if you're talking about the royals now, he'd be top of that pile without any question."
Rounding out his top three was Princess Anne, whom Harrold described as "a knowledgeable lady".
Asked whether it would be seen as a negative if younger royals chose not to pursue university, Harrold said attitudes had shifted.
"I don't think it would (be frowned upon) these days," he said.
"We may find that George, Charlotte, and Louis might not all go to university. They may go straight to somewhere like Sandhurst."
For Prince George, who turns 12 on Tuesday, Harrold said some form of military training is almost certain.
"You can guarantee that George, whether he likes it or not, will have to go through that military training," he said.
"Both William and Charles had military training. You're the commanding chief of the Armed Forces, so you've got to know the profession.
"However, there might not be so much pressure when it comes to George; only time will tell."
In the same interview, Harrold also weighed in on the future schooling of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Archie and Lilibet, who are being raised in Montecito, California.
He said it was "very likely and completely possible" that Harry might want his children to experience British schooling.
"If they have their younger education in America, I'm sure their father will be quite keen to have a bit of a British education," he said.
"But then it depends on how the relationship is with the rest of the family when the time comes."
When it comes to royal education, the standards have always been high.
King Charles began his schooling at Hill House at age eight, before moving on to Cheam School and later Gordonstoun, where he passed six O-levels.
He went on to study archaeology, anthropology and history at Cambridge University, graduating in 1970 with a 2:2, the first British royal heir to earn a university degree.
Princess Anne, meanwhile, was educated at Benenden School, leaving with six O-levels and three A-levels.
Famously, she insisted on being treated like any other student, making her own bed, doing chores and waiting on tables.
Princes William and Harry both attended London nurseries before going on to Eton College.
William later studied at St Andrews University, where he famously met his future wife, Princess Catherine.
His cousin, Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie, enrolled at the same university in 2022.
Interestingly, the royal Harrold deemed the smartest, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was educated entirely at home and even during World War II.
She and her younger sister, the late Princess Margaret, were taught by their governess Marion 'Crawfie' Crawford.
According to the official Royal Family website, when Elizabeth became heir presumptive in 1936, her education shifted to include constitutional law and history, with guidance from her father and Eton's Vice-Provost, Henry Marten.
She also received religious instruction from the Archbishop of Canterbury and studied French with native-speaking governesses.
The late Queen also excelled in sport and the arts, becoming a strong swimmer, horse rider, and musician.
At just 13, she won the Children's Challenge Shield at London's Bath Club, and during the war years, she took home first prize at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1944.
Of course, beyond her academic grounding and sporting achievements, the late Queen was renowned for her quick wit and dry sense of humour.
In a previous interview on 6 September 2022- just two days before Queen Elizabeth died at age 96- Harrold reflected on "the wonderful kind of way" Her Majesty carried herself, as well as her
"wicked sense of humour" in an interview with Slingo.
"She wasn't very regal or royal... I felt really relaxed around her," he said.